Hanover
As if that wasn’t enough, Saturday’s downpour forced hundreds of Prouty-goers inside the Frances C. Richmond Middle School for nearly an hour.
Because lightning had struck in nearby Lebanon and Hartford, organizers worried that the metal poles supporting the tents would invite the same.
Nevertheless, sunny spirits ruled the day. The more than 4,000 cyclists, walkers, rowers and golfers who participated in the 36th annual Prouty helped to raise more than $3 million for cancer research and patient services, organizers said.
This outcome was not without its roadblocks — some of them literal.
Jean Brown, event director and executive director of the Friends of Norris Cotton Cancer Center, said Prouty organizers had spent most nights this week revamping routes, particularly the cycling routes that followed Route 25A, which is closed as a result of damage from last week’s storm.
Instead, these routes ran up Route 10, across the Connecticut River and down Route 5 to complete a circuit.
And, in addition to rerouting the 20-mile, 35-mile and 50-mile bike routes, organizers reduced the 100-mile cycling route to 77 miles. The 64-mile hybrid metric century ride, which was slated to debut this year, was canceled.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am that this is still happening, and it’s safe, and you know what? I don’t think it’s even going to rain,” Brown said in a mid-morning interview.
But the skies had other plans. It did rain, and, at around 11:15 a.m., organizers ushered the crowd into the Richmond Middle School gymnasium to wait out the storm.
Not to be fazed by this turn of events, the band started up again, and caterers set out what remained of the food on tables.
“Honestly, it’s like a party in here,” said Linda Schwabe, a Prouty volunteer. “On one hand, yes, it’s a pain in the (behind), but look — everyone is laughing and mingling and having a good time.”
Brown acknowledged that weather wasn’t the only drama The Prouty has been embroiled in as of late. A lawsuit last year alleged that Dartmouth-Hitchcock had misused funds raised from The Prouty for operating expenses within the hospital, rather than the cancer research for which the money was intended.
Brown said she does not believe the lawsuit played much of a role in people’s decisions to donate or participate in The Prouty. The bigger deterrents, she said, were the event’s proximity to Fourth of July, damage from last weekend’s storm and Saturday’s less-than-stellar forecast.
Brenda Knight, 74, of Hanover, said she wasn’t thinking about the controversy. During her 50-mile bike ride, she was thinking about her friends who had lost their battles with cancer.
“Remembering them, and thinking about what they went through, gave me the energy to keep going,” she said. “It was a great ride. Not a race, but a ride.”
Knight completed her ride before the rain hit, but others were not so lucky. The golf event was called off, and organizers sent out shuttle buses to pick up those who did not wish to continue on their routes.
“There are two kinds of people in The Prouty,” Brown said. “Those who say, ‘Well, I’d really like to stay dry,’ and that’s fine. And then there’s others those say, ‘Well, I don’t care, I’m doing it anyway.’ ”
This places Anthony Alvarenga, of Enfield, and Michelle Gama, of White River Junction, squarely in the latter camp. The couple was about 5 kilometers into their 10K route when the rain started coming down, hard. But they pushed through, and came through the gymnasium doors dripping wet.
“I was a little worried about slipping,” Gama said. “But it was kind of like, whatever at that point. Might as well keep going.”
This was Gama’s first time running in The Prouty, and Alvarenga’s third. Neither said last year’s lawsuit factored into their decision.
“I don’t think so,” he said.
“It’s just cool to see people out in the rain who are doing it anyway, just because they care so much about the cause.”
Some participants chose to wait out the storm in the nearby Lyme School on Route 10. Among these was 9-year-old Sophia Tomlinson-Sanchez, of Orford, who completed the 5K. “I was a little bit scared when my dad told me there might be thunder and lightning today,” Tomlinson-Sanchez said. “It feels really nice to finish.”
Brown said she believes the time spent inside the Richmond Middle School only served to cement the The Prouty’s community-centered ethos.
“Adversity, uncertainty, serendipity — it all brings people together,” she said. “We really did all make it a party.”
EmmaJean Holley can be reached at eholley@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.